The best known example of a hydrogen-powered motor vehicle is a motor vehicle comprising a gas generator to produce hydrogen using EASs that release hydrogen in chemical reaction with water [1]. FIG. 1 shows a motor vehicle 1 comprising a hydrogen generator 3 mounted in the boot to supply a reciprocating engine 2 with hydrogen. FIG. 2 shows structural features of the hydrogen generator 3. The hydrogen generator is a batch-operated reactor. The reactor has a cylindrical housing with welded bottom plates. The upper bottom plate comprises four connections: for fill EAS, supplying water, discharging hydrogen and mounting thermocouples. The lower bottom plate comprises one connection for discharging reaction products. A branched system of liquid supply channels is provided to distribute liquid in a powder layer; the system comprises a vertical channel of 8 mm in diameter, having three connections of 6 mm in diameter that are disposed in three sites along the height of the vertical channel and have cylindrical nozzles at the ends, 9 pieces of 5 mm diameter in each.
The disadvantage of this generator design is the combination of the EAS capacity with the reaction zone, where the entire mass of EAS participates in chemical reaction, creating thereby a high excessive pressure, which leads to increased weight of the reactor due to increased wall thickness. It should also be noted that to obtain a required flow rate of hydrogen to power the internal combustion engine two reactors 3 are accommodated in the boot 3, which require constant replenishment with water.
To control the supply of hydrogen to the engine, a hydrogen supply control system (HSCS) is provided, which is shown in FIG. 3. The HSCS comprises a solenoid valve control distributor 1, an electric actuator 2, a solenoid valve 3, a supply manifold 4, conduits 5, a spacer 6, an intake manifold 7 and an engine 8. The HSCS operates as follows. Depending on the sequence of filling the cylinder of the engine 8, the solenoid valve control distributor 1 opens by an electric actuator 2 an appropriate solenoid valve 3, through which hydrogen is supplied from the supply manifold 4 through conduits 5 to the intake manifold 7 through the spacer 6.
The disadvantage of this device is that it is incapable of maintaining the required air-fuel mixture when the engine operation changes depending on the mode of travel of the car.